Skilled oil and gas workers will be in high demand as Libya prepares to turn on the production taps again, an industry recruitment player believes
Maintenance inspection and engineering staff are likely to be the first to venture back to the North African country which has seen hydrocarbon production virtually halted in the midst of an uprising against the 42-year rule of Muammar Gaddafi, a statement from OilCareers.com read.
The recruiter contended that, in light of the overthrowing of Gaddafi by rebel forces in the past few weeks, “it will not be long before confidence returns to the region and [Libya] starts producing once again”.
Visits by oil and gas personnel to the civil war-ravaged nation were slashed following to the onset of the Arab Spring in February. In May Libya received a solitary industry visitor, OilCareers.com said earlier this year, with just 13 the months before. This compared with 4149 in April 2010, the large drop partly explained to outages in internet connection during the insurgency.
The sharp drop had led the recruiter to state in the summer that “this does not seem to be a situation that is going to rectify itself soon”.
Moving economy
This week’s statement, issued during the Offshore Europe conference in Aberdeen, read: “Libya’s National Transitional Council is working with global leaders including the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, to get the economy moving again.
“With sanctions lifted on oil companies and port authorities, the first people likely to return will be maintenance inspection and other engineers to assess any damage to infrastructure.”
Managing director Mark Guest commented: “While it is perhaps a little early to see interest in the region return to the pre-conflict levels, we expect over the next few months confidence will rise and job seekers will once again start considering Libya as a destination for their next career move.
“This will be matched with demand from employers to bolster local workforces.”
